HCV Rent Reform Study

HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER

RENT REFORM DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM

The Lexington Housing Authority (LHA) is participating in a national demonstration program to implement and evaluate whether there are benefits to reforms in the Housing Choice Voucher Program; specifically, whether new rules for calculating rent encourage households to increase their income, and whether these rules are easier for the LHA to implement. Some key components of the demonstration are:

• Households participating in the demonstration will complete their household and income re-certification only once every three years, even if their income increases during that time.

• Income and rent will be calculated based on the actual income received during the 12 months prior to re-certification.

• Rent will be based on 28% of the gross household income or a Minimum Rent of $150, whichever is greater.

• Safeguards are built into the rules to assist families experiencing a financial burden.

Families were randomly selected to participate in the demonstration with income and rent calculated using the new rules or they were selected to serve as a comparison group using the current rules. Only a portion of the families receiving housing choice voucher assistance will participate in the program.

MDRC, a research firm partnered with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), will collect information about the households in both groups including: background characteristics, rent, income sources and earnings. MDRC will follow strict rules to protect household information. Participating families that do not want MDRC to collect their information can notify MDRC by calling a number provided by their housing specialist.

In addition, data will be collected to determine whether the LHA saves administrative costs, and reduces errors when implementing the new rules.

For more information on the Rent Reform Demonstration Program, please contact the LHA Housing Choice Voucher Office at (859) 281-5060 or click here for a list of questions and answers.